Editing Russian submarine Kursk (K-141) (section)

==Official inquiry results==
Notwithstanding the navy's oft-stated position that a collision with a foreign vessel had triggered the event,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navytimes.com/flashpoints/2021/11/22/russian-admiral-kursk-disaster-caused-by-nato-sub/|title=Russian admiral: Kursk disaster caused by NATO sub|date=22 November 2021}}</ref> a report issued by the government attributed the disaster to a torpedo explosion caused when [[high-test peroxide]] (HTP), a form of highly concentrated [[hydrogen peroxide]], leaked from a faulty weld in the torpedo's casing.<ref name="weaponsystems"/><ref name=brannon/><ref>{{cite web|author=Tony DiGiulian |url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WTRussian_post-WWII.htm |title=Russia / USSR Post-World War II Torpedoes |publisher=Navweaps.com |date=19 November 2008 |access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref> The report found that the initial explosion destroyed the torpedo room compartment and killed everyone in the first compartment.<ref name=bbc0107>{{cite news|title=Final report blames fuel for Kursk disaster|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2078927.stm|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=BBC News|date=1 July 2002}}</ref><ref name=inquests2187>{{cite web|last=Милашина|first=Елена|script-title=ru:Как погиб Курск|url=http://www.novayagazeta.ru/inquests2187.html|access-date=14 February 2014|date=15 July 2010 |language=ru}}</ref> The blast entered the second and perhaps the third and fourth compartments through an air conditioning vent. All of the 36 men in the command post located in the second compartment were immediately incapacitated by the blast wave and possibly killed.<ref name=wines>{{cite news|last=Wines|first=Michael|title=Russian Sub's Officer Wrote Of Torpedo Blast, Izvestia Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/27/world/russian-sub-s-officer-wrote-of-torpedo-blast-izvestia-says.html|access-date=19 February 2014|date=27 February 2001 |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref>  The first explosion caused a fire that raised the temperature of the compartment to more than {{convert|2700|C}}.<ref name=faulconbridge>{{cite news |first=Guy |last=Faulconbridge|title=Nightmare at Sea|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/nightmare-at-sea/364880.html|newspaper=Moscow Times|access-date=22 February 2014 |date=3 December 2004 }}</ref> The heat caused the warheads of between five and seven additional torpedoes to detonate, creating an explosion equivalent to 2–3 [[TNT equivalent|tons of TNT]]<ref name=recovery-paper-2003>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.largeassociates.com/kurskpaper.pdf|title=The Recovery of the Russian Federation Nuclear Powered Submarine Kursk |author=Peter Davidson |author2=Huw Jones |author3=[[John H. Large]] |publisher=[[Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers]]|journal=World Maritime Technology Conference, San Francisco|date=October 2003|access-date=3 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206224817/http://www.largeassociates.com/kurskpaper.pdf|archive-date=6 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> that measured 4.2 on the Richter magnitude scale on seismographs across Europe<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geology.about.com/library/weekly/aa012801a.htm|title=Do Bombs Cause Earthquakes?|access-date=20 February 2014|archive-date=18 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018065306/http://geology.about.com/library/weekly/aa012801a.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was detected as far away as [[Alaska]].<ref name=guardian0805>{{cite news|title=What really happened to Russia's 'unsinkable' sub|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/05/kursk.russia|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=4 August 2001}}</ref>

=== Alternative explanation ===
Vice-Admiral Valery Ryazantsev differed with the government's official conclusion. He cited inadequate training, poor maintenance, and incomplete inspections that caused the crew to mishandle the weapon.<ref name=Ryazantsevix>{{cite web| first=Valery |last=Ryazantsev |title=The death of the "Kursk"|url=http://www.avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/45-glava-ix-spasatelnaya-operatsiya.html|access-date=12 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613060146/http://www.avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/45-glava-ix-spasatelnaya-operatsiya.html |archive-date= 13 June 2011 |language=ru}}</ref>  During the examination of the wrecked sub, investigators recovered a partially burned copy of the safety instructions for loading HTP torpedoes, but the instructions were for a significantly different type of torpedo and failed to include essential steps for testing an air valve. The 7th Division, 1st Submarine Flotilla never inspected ''Kursk''{{'}}s crew's qualifications and readiness to fire HTP torpedoes.<ref name="inquests2187"/> ''Kursk''{{'}}s crew had no experience with HTP-powered torpedoes and had not been trained in handling or firing HTP-powered torpedoes. Due to their inexperience and lack of training, compounded by incomplete inspections and oversight, and because the  ''Kursk''{{'}}s crew followed faulty instructions when loading the practice torpedo, Ryazantsev believes they set off a chain of events that led to the explosion.<ref name="barany"/><ref name=ryazantsevvii >{{cite web| first=Valery |last=Ryazantsev |title=The death of the "Kursk"|url=http://avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/43-glava-vii-gibel-kurska-kak-eto-bilo.html|access-date=12 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120181513/http://avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/43-glava-vii-gibel-kurska-kak-eto-bilo.html |archive-date= 20 November 2011 |language=ru}}</ref>